Rudolph the Red-Nosed RhinoCeros

Hi There! This is a weird one but if you’ve ever wanted to make an RC rhino with a glowing red nose, you’ve come to the right place! You can also apply the general instructions to anything you want to turn into an RC car.

For this project you’ll need:

• Electrical Tape
• Wire Strippers (or at least a tool to do so)
• Scissors
• X-Acto Knife (or at least a tool to cut into the stuffed animal)

For the Stuffed Animal:

• Stuffed Rhino or Your Choice of Stuffed Animal
• Standard Hookup Wire
• 3V Battery + Holder w/Terminals
• Small LED (I Used A Small Surface Mount Red LED)
• Scissors/X-Acto Knife
• Sewing Needle
• Matching Color Sewing String

For the RC Car:

• 4 Channel RC Chip w/RC Controller (Link)
• Wheel/Motor Set (Link)
• Battery Holder (Link)
• 5 AA Batteries
• Round Base Object for End Support (I used a Plastic Easter Egg)
• Adhesive Strips/Hot Glue (or Something Strong Enough to Attach the Motors/Battery to Bottom of the Car)
• Cardboard (Optional)

Let’s Start!

Take your AA batteries and insert them in the battery cover and RC controller. (Note: Controller automatically connects)

There’s two battery wires (1Red/1Black) to connect from the battery case to the chip. Strip the wires about a half inch, match the colors, twist the wires together, and use electrical tape to wrap around the wire so the circuit doesn’t short.

Then, there’s four wires left on the RC chip. Each Positive/Negative set gets connected to the little copper wings on the motors. You’ll want to strip them, put them through, hook them on, and cover the connections with electrical tape.

Now the wires should all be set.

Check! Are the tape connections secure? Does your chip’s light turn on?

Firstly, test your controller and see which direction your wheels are turning with everything turned on between the battery holder and the RC chip.

Attach the motors to the bottom of your car’s surface appropriately with adhesive strips (or another appropriate tool).

Then, attach the battery holder with same adhesive strips as much in between the wheels to help with weight distribution. I recommend just using electrical tape and taping the wires to the battery holder to get them away from the ground when the car is moving.

Use electrical tape to attach the RC chip behind the wheels and battery holder.

Lastly, use hot glue (or another appropriate tool) to attach the plastic egg (or other material) to the back end where your car is as level as possible.

Check! Does everything roll around and stay together?

In this step, I’ll detail the process I took with the rhino, but attach the battery, wires, and light where you need, all steps should still apply for the circuit.

First, cut into stuffed animal with X-Acto or other cutting tool where you’ll need to place the led and battery where the wires can stretch end to end. I cut into the front of the horn and the top of the head.

After cutting, take wire segments and place/pull them where needed. I put mine through the horns and pulled them through the head, as shown.

Next, strip the ends of the wires about half an inch. You’ll attach the negative to negative, positive to positive from your led to the 3V battery.

Lastly, use electrical tape to cover exposed wire connections.

Check! Does the light turn on when you flip the switch on the battery?

First, tuck the components all neatly in. Take a smaller sewing needle and take to the openings you made previously. Go back and forth as you need, I recommend leaving some space up where you have the battery holder so you can still access the power switch so it isn’t running 24/7.

Check! Does the product look clean? How’s your light look?

Now! All that’s left is to attach the stuffed animal to the cardboard surface. All I used was some electrical tape, but feel free to use whatever adhesive you’d like.

And you’re done! Have fun driving around your little toy!